The True Cost of Caviar
By Eibhlis Gale-Coleman
A move towards no-kill caviar is pushing against tradition while providing consumers with a more ethical choice, discovers Eibhlis Gale-Coleman.
The symbol of caviar is that of luxury. Tales of dining on “snappy” sturgeon eggs stretch back centuries, from fishermen along Russia’s Volga River to the upper classes of ancient Greece and Persia. The latter gave caviar its name — translated from khavyar, simply meaning “egg”. Now, these eggs sit in tins to be popped on flybridges and in first-class suites of Transatlantic flights.
Sadly, that luxurious heritage was not to last. Behind a modern-day facade of extravagance, caviar has disintegrated from a symbol of luxury to one of serious environmental concern, leaving consumers in search of elusive ethical caviar in an increasingly dark market.
A Most Coveted Fish
Caviar is the name given to roe (eggs) taken from the wombs of sturgeon. These colossal fish grow to 2 to 3.5 meters in length and release approximately half a million eggs in their lifetime. There’s a caveat, however; due to a ruthless global poaching spree and an increase in dams, nearly two-thirds of the species is at risk of extinction.
Sturgeon pre-dates humanity, co-existing alongside the dinosaurs 200 million years ago. The sturgeon breeding program was clockwork; the female would swim into estuaries and up rivers, laying eggs in the presence of a male for fertilization. The population was flourishing, but then the balance shifted.
In the 20th century, sturgeon were hit twofold by an increase in dam construction in sturgeon habitats – including Eastern Europe and Russia – and by a boom in the caviar industry. Dams prevented the natural repopulation of the sturgeons, while the caviar boom resulted in higher demand for eggs.
Wild sturgeon fishing was too often indiscriminate – hauling sturgeon from the water to slice open their bellies in mere hopes of finding a gold mine of eggs to sell as valuable caviar. Sometimes successful, often not, fishing wild sturgeon and the illegal harvesting of roe continues today.
Black market caviar remains a considerable issue, especially across Europe. A 2021 WWF survey found that 19% of caviar sold in the lower Danube region came from illegally poached wild sturgeon, and 12% failed to comply with international trade regulations. For consumers, dodging black-market caviar alone is a challenge. And that’s without further considering whether the caviar has been ethically farmed.
Farmed caviar came as a solution to restrictions on wild fishing, and today, there are approximately 2,329 sturgeon fish farms operating worldwide.
The production of farmed caviar might seem optimal compared to wild sturgeon fishing. However, in reality, it aggravates the existing misbelief among consumers that wild sturgeon is plentiful.
A No-Kill Policy
A closed and barbaric circuit, it does little to alleviate the plight of this ancient fish. While conservation-friendly in theory, most fish farms operate on kill policies, brutalizing and sacrificing female sturgeon to collect just a single round of eggs. Oftentimes, the culling of sturgeon leans towards producing as much terror-driven adrenaline as possible in hopes of adding value to the meat through ritualistic appeal. Ironically, stressed meat spoils faster in the absence of glycogen and lactic acid, although little research has been done to evaluate how this passes on to the eggs themselves. The process seems nonsensical, and concerningly under-researched.
“I went to see two farms,” says sturgeon conservationist and ethical caviar producer, John Addey. “I watched fish come in, have their necks broken, heads bashed and throats cut before their bellies were sliced open.”
Addey and his son, Mark, withdrew from the horrific experience with a renewed grit to sell no-kill caviar. “You don’t have to kill a sturgeon to produce caviar,” Addey emphasizes, “You can have your caviar and watch your sturgeon swim around for 30 years.”
The no-kill caviar method was born out of a need to protect the sturgeon in captivity. However, it also intends to shift attitudes towards sturgeon fishing and conservation as a whole. In essence, once consumers know the realities of caviar production, there is a greater opportunity for ethical consumerism.
No-kill caviar production was the brainchild of biologist Angela Koehler. Koehler’s patented process involves carrying out an ultrasound on female sturgeon to judge whether they’re ready, before milking the fish for their eggs. In more extreme cases, C-sections can be performed, but for the vast majority of fish, milking alone makes for an entirely non-invasive procedure.
A New Direction
“In my research, I identified the relevant signaling molecules which activate a machinery of enzymes within the live eggs,” Koehler reveals. “The aim was to trigger the eggs’ metabolism to stabilise their envelope for caviar production. The idea – let the eggs work for you!”
Koehler’s research found a distinct quality difference between traditional and no-kill caviar eggs. The most significant difference stems from timelines; no-kill caviar extracts eggs later than traditional caviar, which only uses immature, smaller eggs that still have a protective gonadal cell layer. As a result, traditional caviar must be pasteurized or treated with preservatives as this gonadal cell layer is a magnet for bacteria, yeast, fungus and mold.
Koehler emphasizes the challenges of short shelf-life, explaining: “Traditional caviar can be only served on ice to keep up the egg structure. Therefore, it is not suitable for large dining events. Also in warm dishes, traditional caviar disintegrates quickly if not pasteurized”.
There is the question of quality but also queries over the financial viability of slaughter-based caviar business models, too. “It takes 8-10 years of upbringing (26 years for Beluga sturgeon in the wild) until the fish produces eggs for the first time,” says Koehler. “To slaughter the female sturgeon after such a long period of care and feeding for one single harvest is economically insane.” A no-kill business model eliminates the annual need to restock and, in Koehler’s words, “produces four to seven times as much caviar”.
To combat an ageing fish population, elderly sturgeon can be retired to protected reserves. No-kill methods of farming caviar optimise conservation, financial viability, ethicality and quality assurance — an impressive belt of accolades.
To date, five no-kill caviar farms hold Koehler’s patent license. In addition to this, Addey claims to have encouraged approximately 50 farms across Europe to invest in at least a proportion of their caviar as no-kill produce. Not every caviar farm publicly reveals whether it uses “no-kill” policies or not, predominantly due to a dog-fast upholding of tradition and a reluctance to rock the boat in what remains a controversial topic. However, the tides are turning — behind the scenes or not.
In comparison to the thousands of kill farms worldwide, ethical caviar has become gold dust. Caviar was previously judged on its exclusivity and quality, and no-kill production methods have begun to better tick those boxes. This conservation-conscious adaptation of the caviar industry might just be the most exclusive way to indulge in an age-old luxury. Consumers are set for an entirely new calibre of experience, and the future of caviar and the humble sturgeon might brighten yet.